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Teresa

Teresa Bergman is not your average girly with a guitar. With a powerful and versatile voice akin to that of Adele or Zaz, funky guitar grooves reminiscent of Ani di Franco and Wallis Bird, and a level of musical sophistication likened to Sophie Hunger and Fiona Apple – this is a ‘front frau’ to watch out for! Live on stage, and on her new album “Bird of a Feather” the singer-songwriter from New Zealand has created an eclectic stylistic fusion of acoustic-folk, funk and jazz.

Bergman’s sound incorporates a twist of nearly everything – drawing inspiration from the world of blues, scat-improvisation, swing, chanson, cabaret and good quality pop. Warm acoustic guitar tones support an incredibly astute vocal approach. From soaring heights to soul dripping depths, the dynamism of Bergman’s music and live performances is infectious. Add a good dose of aesthetic extravagance to the picture – some glittering sequins and an elegant yet quirky sense of retro pizazz, and it’s not hard to understand why this Kiwi-lass has turned quite a few heads in her chosen home Berlin.

After making the finals of NZ Idol at 18 and completing an MA degree in political science, Bergman decided to completely dedicate herself to music. Starting at the grassroots, the singer was soon hailed “Berlin’s Best Street Musician” by the city’s most widely read entertainment magazine ‘Zitty’. Since then Bergman has given over 100 concerts in Germany. Teresa’s Trio has featured at some of Berlin’s most prestigious jazz clubs such as ‘Quasimodo’ or ‘Atrane’, as well as festivals in Berlin, Frankfurt, Mainz and Bayreuth.

Teresa’s live shows are authentic and intimate. Her storytelling is diverse and rich in emotion, yet laced with an overriding sense of optimism. The embodiment of an honest musician, Bergman has that extra authentic ‘something’, which the likes of Passenger, Ed Sheeren and Zaz have utilized to produce festival-compatible and chart topping hits.

News

28.11.2012

ZITTY Magazine names Teresa Bergman “Berlin’s best busker for 2012″

Who is the girl singing at the Eberswalder Street Subway Station?
“Zitty”, Berlin’s most popular entertainment magazine recently posted this question on their Facebook site. A week later the magazine named Teresa Bergman as “Berlin’s Best Busker for 2012″ The latest edition of “Zitty” is now available in kiosks all over the city with Teresa and the iconic “Zitty trophy” gracing the front cover!

The issue is entitled “Berlins Beste – Unsere Lieblinge 2012″ / “The Best of Berlin – Our Favourites of 2012″. Teresa’s “street concerts” are described within as an absolute highlight in the vibrant Berliner street-performer scene. The singer’s “crystal clear voice” and acoustic guitar are said to drown out the distraction of heavy traffic – even at Berlin’s loudest intersection. The magazine praises Teresa’s own compositions, describing them as “full of soul without being too soppy”.

“This is no oh-so-timid-little-fawn vulnerable chick singer-songwriter” say the critics, “but a woman with personality, who is able to sing about strong feelings without resorting to cheesiness.”

The article goes on place Teresa on par with the big-fish in this musical genre. According to “Zitty” Teresa is in no way inferior to the likes of Fiona Apple and Joanna Newsom with only one exception – the big break hasn’t quite come her way yet. With a sense of conviction shared by Teresa’s supporters, the article concludes, “this break is only a matter of time”.

The latest edition of “Zitty Magazine” is out now all over Berlin. Support Teresa, get yourself a copy and spread the word!

Zitty – Website
(Quotations in this article were translated into English by Teresa Bergman’s team).

30.11.2012

Teresa Bergman and Band Live at Kugelbahn Wedding!

This is the last gig for Teresa Bergman in 2012. Friday December 14th at Kugelbahn Wedding. This venue is pure class – an original 1950s bowling alley with a great stage and black and white checked dance floor. Teresa will give 2012 a mighty send off accompanied by Alex Skoczowsky (drums), Frank Schulze (Bass) and Marcus Auerbach (E-Guitar). Be sure to join us it should be an amazing night!

Stanley Ruby – Singer Songwriter from western/central Africa. Stanley sings with a real sense of warmth and authenticity. You can check out his brand of acoustic pop-reggae at his facebook page!

Please spread the word, repost and share this invitation to your facebook profiles and bring your friends. This is going to be a big one!

Cheers,
Teresa and the Band

17.12.2012

Review of Teresa Bergman in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung!

Teresa Bergman and her live band delivered a fantastic performance at Kugelbahn Wedding in Dec 2012 – and it seems not only the local “kugelbahners” were enthused. On Monday the 17th of December an article appeared in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” reviewing the gig and Teresa’s recent successes.
The article labels Teresa “Berlin’s most astonishing kid on the block”, “a guitar-woman the likes of whom one is used to finding on TV – with a fantastic voice and fantastic songs, simple as that”.

The newspaper praised Teresa Bergman for her ability to move her audience, whether singing a tender ballad or her louder rockier pieces. The article predicted Teresa’s debut full-length album “Long Walk Home” is bound to enthuse a lot of people.

As the “FAZ” is one of Germany’s most respected and widely distributed newspapers, it is great to see that they, like “Zitty Magazine”, have noticed Teresa Bergman – and like what they see. An appropriate end to a very successful 2012 and precursor for what’s to come!

03.03.2013

Samoan Gospel Choir joins Ms Bergman at bar Bodega!

Last Thursday evening, Bar Bodega – New Zealand’s oldest music venue, played host to Teresa Bergman for the first time in 4 years. And Teresa came equipped to impress. After a soothing opening set from Wellingtonian folk singer Emily Fairlight, Teresa introduced her interesting lingual and stylistic mix of German and English texts, of folk, pop, blues, rock and funk tunes to the Kiwi audience. The mood was intimate, with couches and reading lamps pulled up around the stage, and lots of family and friends come out to support.

The second set had to be the high point of the evening. The past 3 weeks in New Zealand Teresa has recruited herself an amazing Samoan gospel choir, to sing the 4-part harmony backing vocals for her upcoming album “Long Walk Home”. Anyone who knows the luscious harmonic blend, warmth and authenticity of island voices will be excited about this combination! For 5 songs Teresa’s newly named “Island Minstrels” joined her on stage. With “Slide” performed last as the encore for the evening everyone went home feeling very excited about the upcoming studio sessions to record the backing arrangements.

After the studio recordings in Wellington New Zealand Teresa will head off to the “land of Oz” before returning to Berlin. More details about upcoming performances in Melbourne, Australia to come!

18.05.2013

Teresa Bergman Trio at Karneval der Kulturen

I was lucky enough to play with my Trio at the Berlin Carnival of Cultures. For the second year running we were asked to play the Viva Con Agua Stage. Unfortunately the weather decided to protest, but despite rainy and cold conditions a great crowd gathered round to listen, sing-along and dance. The line up at the Con Agua stage was as colourful as ever. Here the wonderful film compilation from this year’s festival: [YouTube]

Our Trio are always happy to support the Viva Con Agua stage – not only is the atmosphere super positive and fun, but at the same time, Viva Con Agua is raising awareness for one of the most pertinent problems facing human kind. We think the fact that clean drinking water isn’t a given for so many people needs to be screamed – or sung – from the rooftops!

Stralsund Seaside Tour

To mark the start of summer, I decided to take a little solo tour to the seaside.

The northern German town of Stralsund on the Baltic Coast was kind enough to play host for 2 concerts. I had the pleasure of being accompanied by German singer-songwriter Jenny Behn.

Our first gig took place at “Ben Gunn” – your typical (German) Irish Pub. The Northerners lived up to their reputation, being somewhat reserved at the outset, yet very much warming to us throughout the evening. The next evening was a contrasting programme at the classy Hotel Scheelhof. Amidst a fine whiskey assortment and tasty seafood dishes, I found myself quite at home;)

07.06.2013

The Handyman Can – The Troubadour Grand Final!

The long awaited grand final of the Troubadour Singer-Songwriter competition 2013 took place Friday the 7th of June. My percussionist Alex Skoczowsky and I were particularly excited…and nervous! Only six bands had the honour of playing the final, in what is hailed as Berlin’s premier singer-songwriter competition.

I decided to sport a full body spandex galaxy suit (as one does) – and play ‘Miss Universe’ for the evening;) We managed to pull off a sneaky little prank on our supporters at the start of our set. I came out on stage all on my lonesome, only to explain to the audience that Alex’s nerves had gotten the better of him. He had, very dramatically, abandoned me to play the Troubadour alone! Cries of sympathy and anger echoed through the “WABE” – one of Berlin’s most iconic venues.

The general outrage proved short-lived however. Mr. Skoczowsky proceeded to take to the stage, aptly ‘disguised’ as “Herr Paschulka” from the local plumbing company “Klempnerei Paschulka und Söhne”. FINALLY I had my on-stage “Handyman”, for our first song sporting the same title. “Herr Paschulka” even came with overalls and an electric drill, which made for a very interesting percussive solo;)

We went on to perform second song “Mirror Girl” and it definitely felt like one of the most intense live versions to date. The loud and proud applause and signage effort from our loyal fans was certainly amazing! We’d really like to thank you all so much for being there for us!

Congratulations to German Pop Comedy Duo “Bye Bye” for their amazing performance, which led them to the 2013 Troubadour title. Furthermore a huge thank you has to go to Berlin/US singer-songwriter Mckinley Black, who organises and moderates the Troubadour every year. She has created such a wonderful supportive platform for musicians to meet each other and perform on one of the best stages in the city. Thank you Troubadour!!!

13.06.2013

Teresa Bergman Trio Make OXMOX Final

After all the fun we had at the Troubadour Final in Berlin, the ‘Hamburgers’ were next in line! Our Trio took part in the Hamburger Band Contest Semi-final on June 13th in “H1”.

Taking the stage with my funky companions – Alex Skoczowsky on the drums and Frank Schulze on bass, we played a pretty dynamic set, starting out with pop-funk tune “Slide”, followed with folk-tango song “Family Tree”, going for the intimate and hard hitting vibe with “Birds of a Feather” and coming to a climatic end with new song “Baby Voice”. Frankie’s legendary “B” for bass woolly hat made an appearance of course…as well as Alex black t-shirt and jeans. I tried to fit-in with neon coloured tetras leggings, rainbow high heels, a sequent peacock-patterned top and Charley Chaplin hat – the contrast couldn’t be sweeter!

The Oxmox Final takes place on September 7 in the Markthalle in Hamburg.

14.06.2013

Prize from Hamburg Label ‘Go Jimmee Records’

As part of the Oxmox Band Contest 2013 Hamburg Label ‘Go Jimmee Records’ offered a digital distribution deal as a special prize, plus a spot playing at their label showcase in late September. We were really excited to be awarded the prize from 60 bands! My EP CD is now available on all online platforms. And about time too;)

Eine Fette Fete!

2013’s Fete de la Musique in Berlin turned out to be a busy night. I ended up booked for 2 different stages, but I figured the more music the merrier! I first performed in Berlin’s historic old town, the “Nikolai Viertal”. The gig was solo, acoustic and on a street corner – so I felt right at home. An enthusiastic crowd of locals and tourists soon gathered and many were keen to take an EP CD home with them after the all to short 30-minute stint.

On my bike again (literally), with neon pink trailer in tow, I soon arrived at

Wedding’s “Nettelbeckplatz”. I was super happy to perform with my Trio as headliner. As 2/3 of our Trio are proud to call Wedding our home ‘Kiez’, we were honoured to play such a big outdoor event in our neighbourhood. With a huge stage and excited crowd to play for, half of whom already knew us from local open stages and gigs, the scene was set for an awesome gig. For over an hour we brought a mixed crowd of families, teenagers, and elderly to their feet. A wonderful community feeling was in the air during the concert. After a resounding encore of “Me Myself and I” the party went on at the new “Kiki Sol”– one of the best local jam session locations. Thanks heaps to Stefan and the team at Kikisol for the organisation and having us along. Gerne wieder!

20.07.2013

Teresa Bergman in A-Trane, Special Guest for Volkan Baydar!!

There are just some clubs you HAVE to play at. And often they are the ones, where it’s almost impossible to land a gig J. Legendary Berlin Jazz Club “Atrane” fits this description. Thanks to recent collaboration with ‘Go Jimmee Records’ however, I found myself onstage at Atrane, alongside fellow artist Volkan Baydar and his AMAZING band. I was asked to appear as a guest singer on the final night of Baydar’s 3-day Atrane concert series. Every night Baydar had guests along to perform two duets – one of his songs and one of their own.

Volkan and I were both really happy with the performance, and especially the vocal blend. He has a killer soul voice and so much power. His band pulled off an interesting jazzy and percussive version of my song “Walking in the Clouds”. I also really enjoyed singing his Pop-Soul ballad “The Child Inside”.

Look out for news of an exclusive ‘Teresa Bergman and Band’ concert at Atrane in 2014!!!

28.07.2013

Teresa Bergman Trio in Frankfurt am Main

Our Trio made its inaugural Frankfurt tour from the 24th-28th of July – hoping to make a lasting impression on both sides of the Main River. The tour plan compromised everything from large open-air concerts, to intimate open stages, and of course, testing out the local conditions for street music.

The famous “Zeil” proved to be great spot to bring our music directly to the Frankfurters. Large crowds gathered, listened attentively and even danced amongst the busy shopping hordes. I visited local pub “Art Bar” for their weekly open stage, which turned out to be a wonderful night. Local radio station ‘Radio X’, having heard we were in town, also contacted us for a spontaneous radio appearance! I performed 2 songs live and gave a small interview to promote the remaining concerts.

We went on to play two of our biggest open air shows yet on the Saturday and Sunday evenings – the first on the Sachsenhausen side of the river Main at “Hafen 2”, and the second at popular Frankfurt open air Festival “Stoffel” in Güntersburg Park. The local crowds were fantastic, braving the rain, cold and competing techno music to cheer us on. Thanks to our wonderfully proactive Manager Simon Alter, local media were also there on both evenings. We even received glowing press in the “Frankfurter Journal” and “Die Welt”.

So all in all a very successful trip!! The Frankfurters will definitely be seeing us again in the near future.

03.08.2013

Rialto Lichtspiele Hamburg – support for ‘The Low Flying Ducks’

I was really excited to be asked to support Hamburger Band “The Low Flying Ducks” at one of Hamburg’s most beautiful and unknown venues “Rialto Lichtspiele”. This old movie theatre is an architectural dream, one of the most ambient historical locations you’ll find. The theatre has been resurrected for a single summer and is due to be closed down at the end of October.

I took the stage on my lonesome for a juicy 45minute slot. The crowd were lovely and I hope I managed to drum up some new loyal Hamburg fans in the process! “The Low Flying Ducks” then charmed the audience well and truly with their brand of original folk-blues-rock.

I’ll be back at “Rialto Lichtspiele” on October the 24th, this time with band in tow! Hamburg starlet Jazz Pop Singer-Songwriter “San Glaser” and the amazingly young and talented Singer-Songwriter “Celine Love”, will join our Teresa Bergman Trio on the night. Well-known soul and gospel diva “Love Newkirk” will also grace the evening with her presence, as MC. We’ve called it a “Frauenpower Extravaganza” ….AND THAT IT SHALL BE! This will be one of the very last concerts at Rialto. Don’t miss it!!

Teresa Bergman Trio at “Commusication” – BKA Theater Berlin

The Teresa Bergman Trio was honoured to play one of Berlin’s most fun and fabulous music events “Commusication”, run by legendary Berlin/Australian/American band “The Beez”. Four bands partake each month in the event, run in the heart of Kreuzberg at the BKA Theater. All 4 bands are asked to cover the same song, as well as perform their own pieces. On this particular night, the song was “Venus” by the Shocking Blue. German, English, Spanish, bluesy, funky, Latino and even electro versions of this classic pop-rock anthem ensued. We gave it a go with a funk version arranged by Bass player Frank Schulze. Fellow artists Rob Longstaff, Bek Jensen, Stephen Paul Taylor and The Beez were all amazing. Since then the show was broadcast on Rock Radio and the whole event was filmed by T.V station “Alex T.V”. It’ll be broadcast sometime, we’ll let you know!

11.08.2013

At the Seaside Again! Rostock/Warnemünde Tour

Mid August I headed back to the Baltic Sea, this time to play in Rostock and Warnemünde. The first gig was at the “Peter Weiss” Bier Garten – a popular student hang out in Rostock. They had a great little outdoor stage overlooking numerous beer tables. Good beer, BBQ and good music!

My other two gigs were quite the contrast point, taking place at 5 Star “Hotel

Neptune”. Very fancy schmansy;). The Sunday was particularly amusing. Firstly this was the first AM gig I’ve had in a long while – you don’t get those too often in Berlin. This was quite literally a gig at 10am for a room packed with excited grannies and granddaddies – many of whom quite confusingly, were already sporting a large beer in hand. The acts preceding me were a Russian Sea Captain and a 50-man strong Bavarian Shanty Choir ….I didn’t quite know where I’d landed myself – especially when all 50 of them wanted to “greet” me backstage!

I sang one of my original songs, the title track for upcoming album “Long Walk Home”. The Omas appreciated that, after I explained I wrote the song for my Oma back in New Zealand. After this a few good old Beatles tunes and an interview, in which everyone seemed to find it hilarious that I didn’t know who Stefan Raab was…What can I say? Variety is the spice of life

15.08.2013

Wir sind Wedding und Moabit!

My manager and I were having coffee in Wedding a few weeks back, when we saw posters hung up everywhere saying – “Ich bin Wedding” “Ich bin Moabit”. So we did a little research and discovered the annual Wedding/Moabit Culture Festival was due to take place. The idea behind the festival is decentralization. Through dispersed communal actions a feeling of bursting cultural goodness is cultivated, across two of Berlin’s coolest suburbs Wedding and Moabit. Music, art, poetry, tattoos, glitter, dance …you name it, it was happening!

So we got involved, and ended up (almost by accident), being the act with the most gigs in the whole festival. I simply asked at all the places recommended to me by the lovely people in the festival office at Stadtbad Wedding – and everyone said Yes!

Our first gig was at “Fabrik Theater” at the “Kultur Fabrik” Moabit. WOW! What a location. This crazy theatre used to be a butchers house, or something of the like. Porcelain tiling on the walls is a tell tale sign. All this put together with decorative pieces acquired from the German Opera, cheesy (yet adorable) heart shaped lighting, ornate stone ceilings – and the general Berlin look of everything falling apart in a ‘fashionable’ way;)

We had a lovely crowd for the gig. It was super cosy and intimate. House sound technician Hermann Köhler also recorded our performance. Look out for a re-release of my EP CD with a ‘Fabrik Theater Live Bonus Track’ coming soon!!!

The next day was an early morning wake up call (at least by musicians standards). We set up a makeshift stage on Wedding’s “Nettelbeckplatz” – utilizing the seating surrounding the beautiful oak trees as a great ‘Phil Collins’ style circular stage. The September weather was stunning and the Weddingers were out in numbers, enjoying the market place and children’s activities set up at the square.

We had a wonderful support act for our open-air concert – German Rock ‘n’ Roller “Bob Double U and the Masterpiece”.

The festival Sunday was a double whammy day. I played an afternoon session at “Blink Blink” – a creative workshop/studio space on the Gerichts Strasse. The lovely ladies at “Blink Blink” were holding a weekend long event “Beauty Boom and Bang”. Sounded like my kind of thing! I played for a small but grateful group of very chilled out Sunday guests – who then proceeded to learn how to the tattoo themselves in a very interesting (yet terrifying) workshop afterwards. I refrained from inking myself, preferring to paint my nails gold and glittery at the nail polish station (with over 100 types of polish …goody!).

Our final stop for the Wedding/Moabit Festival was the Moabit “Reformations Kirche”. In conjunction with Moabit band Kini Mod we took part in a ‘Probe Raum Konzert’ – a public concert given in their rehearsal space. The practice room, just happened to be in the stunning Reformation Church. Once again we had the pleasure of playing to a large and enthusiastic audience in a wonderful ambient setting. Afterwards the church warden showed us the main congregational hall, where I took the opportunity to sing acapella and enjoy the building’s ‘heavenly’ acoustics.

A huge thank you to all the other artists, venue staff and the festival office team for helping us take part in such a varied, colourful and interesting festival. What an amazing city Berlin is, to offer so many crazy different opportunities on the same weekend!

24.08.2013

Teresa Bergman Trio In True Organic Style!

It’s always great to get out of Berlin for a few days and smell the fresh country air. And that’s exactly what we got in “Reetz”. We had the honour of playing at the “Oelala” Agricultural Club’s stunning organic farm – replete with beautiful old farm houses and fruit trees bursting with fresh goodies.

Unfortunately much of the land in this area has been ruined through monoculture corn crops for organic gas – which essentially is a good thing, but not when it destroys the diversity and soil quality of a whole area. A dedicated team of lovely people, head by heart and soul of the project Dieter Wankmüller, run this place – an organic reservoir symbolizing forward thinking for future generations and responsibility for our planet.

We were treated to a giant caldron of home made soup, cakes and wood fried pizzas. And we weren’t the only musicians lucky enough to stay and play at the farm. Students from the Martin Buber School in Berlin, also graced the stage. They jammed out tunes ranging from ‘Son a Preacher Man’, to Johnny Cash classics, to their own original pop rock songs. I was so impressed by their musicality and talent. My Trio will most probably get to do a workshop with these keen young musicians next year. Can’t wait!!

The next day the weather was once again perfect and we were spoilt with home made marmalade, organic bread, fruit, tea and coffee. Everyone ate outside in the sun together and Dieter read us his poetry. What a magical place!

If you’re interested in looking up the Oelala Club please check out this link:

07.09.2013

OXMOX Grand Final

The competition season came to its peak with the final of the Hamburg band contest. We got to play at the ‘Markt Halle’ ….where the Rolling Stones have played …but no big deal

It was rad. So many great musicians, so many different styles and looks and sounds. I was excited to go on stage in a green and glittering number I’ve been saving for a while. Frank also pulled out his ‘secret weapon’ – his forehead camping light – without a doubt the gimpiest thing anyone has ever worn on stage, but that’s why we love him;)

We were really happy with our set. We were also really happy to be placed 4th from 60 bands. Hammer! And as the cheery on top, we received a whole weekend studio time as our prize. Thanks so much to the Oxmox jury and organisers for all your support.

TB Trio Headliner Liederlauschen Festival

We got to play for a big happy crowd at Helmholzplatz (Berlin Prenzlauerberg) for this year’s last open air concert. Taking part in the “Liederlauschen Festival” the second year running, I was really happy to play headliner on the Saturday night this time! Our Trio did a 1.5 hour set, and were honoured with multiple encores. The crowd were just great, thanks so much to everyone who supported us so loudly, and to all those who bought our CD after the show! We’ll be there again next year without at doubt! Thanks to Lea and the festival team for the invite and looking after us so well on the night.

Thanks to David Ulbrich for the great photo!

14.10.2013

Teresa Bergman EP Special Edition with Live Bonus Track “Family Tree”

It’s official. We’re sold out of our EP CD. After burning and pressing the first 1000 by hand, and getting through the next 2000 properly printed copies, I feel so satisfied to think of my little CD in 3000 hands around the world. With the amount of tourists who bought the CD, I can hardly imagine all the places where my music has made its way onto the stereo. Really quite an amazing thought!

As my new album is still in production we’ve decided to re-release the EP, this time with new cover artwork and an extra bonus track “Family Tree”. It was recorded live at our recent concert at “Fabrik Theater”. Cajon, bass, guitar and vocals are on the track. I’m really happy with the lovely vibing character that only comes with a fantastic live audience.

The first copies of the new EP edition will be available at our gig at Rialto Lichtspiele in Hamburg on the 24th of October. It’s only available in hard copy! So come to our concerts and get in fast!